Ben Uri Research Unit

Born:

Year of Migration to the UK: 1972

Other name/s: Amira Zeloof

Biography

Sculptor Ahuva (Amira) Zeloof was born Baghdad, Iraq on 5 June 1946. She moved to Israel as a child and then immigrated to England with her family in 1972, where she continued her visual engagement with the world around her, teaching yoga before taking up sculpture.

Zeloof draws profound inspiration from her heritage and childhood in the Middle East, as well as the rugged terrain of the region where she was born. After arriving in London, she diversified her visual repertoire by immersing herself in the city's art and design collections. Her early sculptural practice is marked by interventions into readymades. This period was also significant as it coincided with her becoming a mother to four children, a transition reflected in her oeuvre. In the 1980s, her engagement with the human form deepened through her practice and her subsequent yoga teaching. This led to greater inward reflection and the revival of her earlier artistic ambitions, culminating in the creation of her inaugural series of sculptures focusing on the movement of the human body. Throughout the 1990s, Zeloof pursued short courses in sculpture, exploring various mediums and discovering a profound connection with stone, before eventually enrolling in an Art Foundation course at the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute in 2016. Since that turning point, Zeloof has established a career in sculpture, often making pieces that show a textural tension between smooth and rough surfaces, with an emphasis on organic forms, whether figurative or abstract. New Movement (2018) captures a sequence of figures engaged in various dynamic yoga poses, each crafted from a textured material that accentuates the fluidity and tension of human movement. The coarse and almost sketch-like texture of the bronze imparts a raw and unfinished quality to each figure. This textural approach not only emphasises the immediacy and spontaneity of the sculptor’s hand, but also mirrors the fleeting nature of the poses they embody. Positioned along a rough-hewn wooden beam, these figures collectively display a progression of specific yoga movements. In her sculptural practice, Zeloof is influenced by Rodin and Michelangelo, visible in both the rough surfaces and the sense of monumentality in her forms.

Although coming to sculpture later in life, Zeloof's experiences and innate talent quickly led to success. She has organised several solo exhibitions in London and has participated in numerous group exhibitions, both in the UK and internationally, including at Master Drawings New York, USA. She held a solo exhibition in London, IMPERFECTION (2020), which featured sculptures from the past decade, alongside recent stone works, crafted during prolonged periods of self-isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Her figurative works, often regarded as subconscious self-portraits and displayed at the exhibition, vividly convey evolving emotional and psychological states, fostering a sense of profound introspection. In 2023, Zeloof was selected to participate in the International Biennale of Glass at the National Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria. The following year, her sculpture Evolution was selected for the Royal Cambrian Academy's 2024 Annual Open Exhibition.

Beyond her sculpture, Zeloof's debut art book, FAITH, explores spirituality and faith through Nubian sandstones collected from Israel’s Mediterranean coast, which she moulds and casts in bronze. Selecting pieces that evoke human figures, she observes, ‘This time it’s not faces, but biblical figures. Holy monuments and scenes of pilgrimage emerge when I view these collections of stones,’ (Zeloof quoted in Poletti, 2025, p. 19). These works possess a deep, primordial aesthetic, reminiscent of ancient artefacts such as the Venus of Willendorf, designed to evoke in viewers a transcendental connection to ancestors, spirituality, and the natural world. Her earlier series, Evolution and Fossil, explore related themes concerning the origins and development of humanity. She has also participated in two exhibitions focused on Jewish identity, Expressions of Judaism (2023) and People of the Body (2024).

In addition to her art practice, Zeloof and her family have also played an important role during the revitalisation of the East London art scene, restoring the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane and transforming it into a vibrant artistic hub. Ahuva Zeloof lives and works in London, England. Her works are not currently represented in any UK public collections.

Related books

Ahuva Zeloof, Shelly Verthime and Federico Poletti, Ahuva Zeloof: FAITH (Italy: Silvana Editoriale/Truman Brewery, 2025)

Related organisations

Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute (student )

Selected exhibitions

Balance & Harmony (group show), Trades Hall, Glasgow (2024)
People of the Body (group show), Studio Leigh, London (2024)
The Society of Women Artists’ 163rd Annual Open Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London (2024)
Open Exhibition 2024 (group show), Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy, Wales (2024)
The Holy Art Fair (solo exhibition), Truman Brewery, London (2023)
Expressions of Judaism (group show), Kent House, London (2023)
International Biennale of Glass (group show), National Gallery, Sofia (2023)
The Holy Art Fair (solo exhibition), OXO Tower, London (2023)
Master Drawings New York (groups show), New York/online (2021)
IMPERFECTION (solo exhibition), Diba Art, London (2020)
Evolution (solo show), Truman Brewery, London (2017)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Ahuva Zeloof]

Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.

Ahuva Zeloof artist